Sales Team-Building Activities That Spread Goodwill

It's fair to say that at one time or another, most of us have read or watched some version of Charles Dickens' famous holiday story, "A Christmas Carol." In case you've forgotten, the tale centers around a miserly old man named Scrooge. Scrooge is the type of business owner who sometimes gives business a bad name. He exploits his one underpaid employee, he refuses to donate to charitable causes, and he's generally grumpy about the whole idea of holiday cheer.

If you're not careful, it's can be easy for customers, employees, and others to view your business as one of the Scrooges of the world, even if all you're trying to do is employ smart business practices. That's why it's smart business, as well as the right thing to do, to make sure that your business does a little something extra to make the world a better place, especially at this time of year.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be difficult, expensive, or especially time-consuming to plan a project or two that will bring the holiday spirit into your office and help people in your community and elsewhere who are in need. In a world that can sometimes be dark, your company can shine some light, reminding people that there is good in the world, and that your company is one of the good guys.

In need of some inspiration? Here are some ideas to get you started.

Sponsor an Office Clothing Drive

This can be as simple as putting a box out in your office to collect warm winter clothing and blankets for your local homeless shelter or a similar charity in your area. Some offices put up a tree and have people hang gloves, mittens, and scarves on it. If you have a few crafty people at the office, you might want to consider getting together to tie quilts or sew blankets. Another variation on this is to have a canned food drive, inviting employees, customers, and anyone else to drop off canned food, which can be donated to the local food bank. The idea is to make it easy for people to give, since your business does the job of collecting and delivering everything. This is a wonderful way to harness the goodwill of others and help them also feel like they are doing something good around the holidays.

Cook a Holiday Dinner at Your Local Homeless Shelter

If you'd like to actually meet some of the people you're helping, you might organize an evening when everyone in your office or on your sales team goes down to the local homeless shelter and cooks and serves a holiday dinner to those in need. Your office can provide the food, and your employees just need to show up and spend a few hours preparing and serving it. If your business is smaller, or this feels like too much to plan, consider asking around at local churches and other charities, who may be organizing such an event. They might be glad to have some extra hands, and you can publicize and promote the service opportunity to your team.

Make Christmas Happen for a Disadvantaged Family

If you or someone on your team knows a family that doesn't have much this holiday season, you might consider playing Secret Santa for them. Find out the ages and genders of the children, and then buy and wrap gifts for them, to be delivered at Christmas. If you don't know a specific family, contacting a local church or women's shelter. Toys for Tots is an organized program that collects toys for children from disadvantaged families, and is another great option for donating toys, as well as a corporate donation, if you are looking for a good end-of-year tax write-off.

Other ideas include offering your product or service as a donation or donating a certain percentage of profits to a good cause, having a special charity drive for refugees or veterans, or helping out at your local animal shelter. Spread the holiday cheer, and build teamwork by doing something good together!